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Chad’s interests had become more obvious, and he'd invited her out to dinner several times, but she'd politely declined each offer. All she wanted to do was bury herself in work and wait for the day when it felt like her head was above water again.
So that’s how she found herself in her cafe before noon, on the first day of her forced vacation. The employees had laughed at her, but she didn’t care. She sat at a table at one end of the room and worked on her next article, chomping away at fresh muffins and nursing a cup of coffee.
Eventually, as the morning rush wound down, a couple of her co-workers congregated around her table. The shop was pretty much empty. While she'd been in the bathroom, a group of guys had taken up a booth at the opposite end of the room, but that was it. It only took one person to handle them, so Paige found herself sitting next to Chad, with two other co-workers across from them.
“I still can’t believe you used to hitchhike everywhere,” Chad was saying, shaking his head.
“Yeah, for years, really. I didn’t think I would ever stop, to be honest. It was a lot of fun,” she replied, turning her chair so she was facing him.
“Weren’t you scared?” a girl asked. Paige shrugged.
“Sometimes. But when you’re a massive bitch who carries around a straight razor, most people leave you alone,” she replied and they laughed.
“Did you ever get stuck somewhere cause no one would give you a ride?” the girl continued with her questions.
“Oh yeah, all the time.”
She was shocked when Chad reached out and grabbed the leg of her chair, pulling her close. Her knees were now in between his knees. He smiled at her. He had curly blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She should like him, she thought. He was very nice to her.
“I would’ve picked you up,” he laughed, winking at her.
She was about to respond when the group of guys got up from their table. They were rowdy and loud, laughing as they exited the building and shouting goodbyes to the staff. Paige laughed, glancing at her co-workers, when something caught her eye. She looked again, and there was something familiar about the last guy heading out the door.
Her heart was suddenly racing and she jumped up, knocking over her chair. Her friends let out shouts of surprise around her, but she didn’t listen. She stumbled to get around Chad, practically climbing over him. Finally, she was free and she ran across the cafe, pushing through the door. By the time she ran through the outer door, though, all she could see were several of the guys at the very edge of the parking lot, walking off into the distance.
“Shit, you’ve gone crazy,” she mumbled to herself.
“I like your hair.”
She froze. She couldn’t believe it.Could not believe. She thought if she turned around, she might have a heart attack. Her pulse was already breaking the speed limit. But she decided it was worth the risk, and she slowly spun around.
He looked different. Joey hadn’t been lying, Parker was seriously tan. He'd always had an almost olive like complexion, but now he had one of those deep tans you only got from being outside all the time, somewhere that was always sunny. He seemed bigger, too. He'd always been a big guy, but now he seemed broader. Like he'd tacked on muscle mass. It made her feel weird at first, but his smile was the same, and his eyes were the same, and that’s all that mattered.
“I came to see you, but you seemed busy with your friends. I didn’t want to interrupt. I can come back,” Parker offered.
Paige burst out crying.
And not delicate, “feminine” tears, either. Heaving sobs that racked her body. She brought her hands to her face, covering her mouth and nose, trying to stop herself. This was not at all how she'd pictured this happening. But it was like a punch to the stomach, seeing him again. All the memories, the emotions. The feel of his hands, the sound of his laugh; it all flooded back to her in an instant. She couldn't contain it all, so she cried.
Parker looked horrified, and for a second she thought he might bolt. Then he chuckled and walked up to her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into a hug.
I'm home.
“Come here, you nut bar,” he laughed, rubbing a hand up and down her back soothingly.
“I-I-I’m sorry, I’m n-n-n-normally n-not like th-th-this,” she struggled to say, pressing her face into his chest. He laughed some more.
“I know. Wehavemet, Paige. Honestly, I didn’t think you were capable of crying,” he replied. She smacked him in the arm.
“Fuck you,” she sniffled.
“There’s that mouth I love,” he whispered near her ear. It was too much to hear that, even in jest. She pulled away and stepped back, wiping at her nose.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. He shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“I wanted to come say hi, see how you were doing,” he explained.
“How did you know where I work?”
